Five Houthi Commanders Killed in Yemen

Five senior commanders from Yemens Shia Houthi rebel movement have been killed in clashes in its northern heartland of Saada province and in western Marib province, the Al-Arabyia TV channel reported on Thursday. Aqil al Dulaimi, Hisham al Dulaimi and Kamal al Dulaimi were killed in Serwah in Marib, Al-Arabiya said, citing unnamed sources.

A special forces commander for former authoritarian President Ali Abdullah Saleh, Abdul Latif Hatim, was killed in northeast Saada with Abu Ali Abdullah Mohammed al-Houthi, a field commander said to be close to the Houthi leadership, Al-Arabiya quoted the sources as saying. A truce brokered by the United Nations began late on Wednesday between pro-Houthi forces and those loyal to exiled President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi.

The fragile UN-backed truce is intended to last at least three days, although there have been reports of sporadic clashes. A coalition has been fighting the Iran-backed Houthis and their allies since March 2015, when a Saudi-led air campaign began in support of Hadi — Yemen’s internationally recognised President.